Uncrowned Community Builders

Addie Mae Logan Molson came into this world February 3, 1914 the fifth child of Alvin and Hattie (Clayton) Logan. An article under the heading ââ?¬Å?County News,ââ?¬ in the Democrat states the following: ââ?¬Å?Guinda, Feb. 3 ââ?¬â?? We are having ideal April weather. Farm and orchard work is progressing rapidly. The stork has been hovering over the many glades and green slopes of Guinda for several days. On Tuesday, February 3, the good old bird left a little son (?) at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Al Loganââ?¬.

When she reached the age of four, precocious as she was, she was ready for school. Although the law at that time stated that a child must be a certain age in order to be enrolled, that didnââ?¬â?¢t deter her. In 1918, when it became apparent that the newly built Guinda Grammar School might not be able to support two teachers because of a lack of students, her father announced, ââ?¬Å?I have one more at home that can do anything the others can doââ?¬ as she had the advantage of four older siblings to learn from. So at the tender age of four years, Addie enrolled in the last half of the first grade. When she died, January 16, 2002, the following was written about her and read at her funeral:

ââ?¬Å?Remembering Addie Mae Logan-Molsonââ?¬â?Addie Mae was truly one in a million ââ?¬â?? one of a kind ââ?¬â?? kind of person.

When she was only five years old she walked from the Summit at the top of the East boundary of Capay Valley to school in Guinda ââ?¬â?? nearly three miles.

Always the good student, she was only six or seven when she read the story of ââ?¬Å?The Little Red Henââ?¬ to the whole school. The school enrollment then ââ?¬â?? all eight grades-was more than 50 children.

She took music lessons from Mrs. Crites, then, the valleyââ?¬â?¢s music teacher and learned to play the piano at a very young age. She was always willing to play for school and community functions. She also played the old pump-organ for the Guinda Church for a number of years.

Along with her sister Grace, her brother Booker and friend Evan Lowery, the four of us sang in the church choir.

Addie Mae was a very dear friend. The last time I saw her we sat on a bench in the bank and visited for nearly a half-hour. We reminisced about old times and about how things used to be when we were youngsters in Guinda.

That visit was only a few months ago.

A friend for more than 80 years ---- Evan M. Lowreyââ?¬


In high school Addie took Spanish and Latin courses. This was just the beginning of her mastery of foreign languages. Music was another love. She learned how to play on a pump organ. Too short to reach the pedals, her older brothers assisted her by pumping the pedals for her.

While in high school, Addie played the piano at all the school programs, operettas, and the Friday night ââ?¬Ë?silent movies.ââ?¬â?¢

Addie entered the University of California at Berkeley as a freshman, barely sixteen years old, in 1930. She chose to major in Languages selecting Spanish and French. At one point, during her college career, she studied Italian and German until the demands of homework and working were too great. She concentrated on Spanish and French instead.

While attending college, she lived with her motherââ?¬â?¢s sister, in Berkeley, for the first year and worked as a waitress at her uncleââ?¬â?¢s restaurant in Oakland. Stephensââ?¬â?¢ Restaurant, was a family-style restaurant that provided jobs for many college students like Addie. This is where she met her future husband. To supplement her income she earned tuition by playing piano at dances. While a senior at Cal she eloped to Reno, Nevada to marry James Taylor Molson, her husband of 62 years. A few days after their marriage she and her older sister boarded a train for Mississippi where they would be living prior to obtaining their teaching credentials. At this time in California, Americans of African descent were not allowed to do practice teaching in public schools. The trip south, by train, was quite a memorable experience for them. On their journey through the South, they were informed that they were required to board a ââ?¬Å?Jim Crowââ?¬ car in Texas. When they entered an eating establishment in New Orleans, all eyes were directed towards them as they waited to have their order taken. The waitress said, ââ?¬Å?I reckon yââ?¬â?¢all must be from the North.ââ?¬ It was quite obvious that they were no longer in Northern California.

Addie and her sister, Grace, taught at the Saint Industrial School in Lexington, Mississippi until she became ill and had to return home in February 1935. At this time she put her education on hold.

She held a job as a pianist in an Oakland nightclub called the North Pole Club. When the owner of the club heard her play, at an audition, she threw her hands in the air and said, ââ?¬Å?Thatââ?¬â?¢s exactly what Iââ?¬â?¢m looking forââ?¬ and hired Addie on the spot. Eventually, she had her own combo.

At her husbandââ?¬â?¢s encouragement, she went back to UC Berkeley to earn her degree. At her graduation, in 1940, Addieââ?¬â?¢s proud parents, husband, and children were in attendance.

Addie held a variety of jobs. She worked for caterers, was a clerk for the Department of Motor Vehicles, and a salesclerk and seamstress for J. C. Penney. Again, at her husbandââ?¬â?¢s encouragement, she returned to school, this time attending Sacramento State College where she obtained a degree in Elementary Education. From 1951 until health forced an early retirement in 1972, she taught in the second grade, a combination fourth-fifth-sixth grade, and at the end of her career she taught gifted students. She had many firsts in her life, one of which was being the first teacher of color hired by the North Sacramento School district. Even though she formally retired in 1972, she continued in the classroom as a substitute teacher until 1989.

She was a positive influence in many of her former studentsââ?¬â?¢ lives. One student was ordained on her birthday in1998. Another student, now a professor at Cornell University, had this to say, ââ?¬Å?I remember her kindness, warmth, and her smiling face as though she were sitting right in front of me this very moment. I only had her for music, and I envied everyone who actually had her as a teacher. She is a bright spot in a mist of memories about grade schoolââ?¬¦.I think that having a person of my own race as a teacher so early in life (the only one I had until college), gave me a sense of the ââ?¬Ë?possibleââ?¬â?¢. And besides that, Mrs. Molson was just special. Everyone loved her, I hope she knows that. She will not remember me. I shall never forget her.ââ?¬ This student was Dr. Margaret Washington.